Forces and the Laws of Motion
Preview
Section 1 Changes in Motion
Section 2 Newton's First Law
Section 3 Newton's Second and Third Laws
Section 4 Everyday Forces
Section 1
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 1
What do you think?
• What is a force?
• Are any forces acting on your book as it rests on
your desk?
• If so, describe them.
• Make a sketch showing any forces on the book.
• What units are used to measure force?
• Can forces exist without contact between
objects? Explain.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 1
Forces
• Forces can change motion.
– Start movement, stop movement, or change the direction of
movement
– Cause an object in motion to speed up or slow down
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Forces
• Contact forces
– Pushes or pulls requiring
physical contact between
the objects
– Baseball and bat
• Field forces
– Objects create force fields
that act on other objects.
– Gravity, static electricity,
magnetism
Section 1
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 1
Units of Force
• The SI unit of force is the newton (N).
– Named for Sir Isaac Newton
– Defined as the force required to accelerate a 1 kg mass at a rate of 1
m/s2
– Approximately 1/4 pound
• Other units are shown below.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Force Diagrams
• Forces are vectors (magnitude and direction).
• Force diagram (a)
– Shows all forces acting during an interaction
• On the car and on the wall
• Free-body diagram (b)
– Shows only forces acting on the object of interest
• On the car
Section 1
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 1
Free-Body Diagrams
• Three forces are shown
on the car.
– Describe each force by
explaining the source of the
force and where it acts on
the car.
– Is each force a contact
force or a field force?
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 1
Now what do you think?
• What is a force?
• What forces act on your book as it rests on your
desk?
• Make a sketch showing any forces on the book.
• Are they contact forces or field forces?
• What SI unit is used to measure force?
– What equivalent basic SI units measure force?
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
What do you think?
• Imagine the following two situations:
– Pushing a puck across an air hockey table
– Pushing a book across a lab table
• What should your finger do in each case to maintain a
constant speed for the object as it moves across the
table or desk? (Choose from below.)
– A quick push or force, then release the object
– Maintain a constant force as you push the object
– Increase or decrease the force as you push the object
• Explain your choice for the puck and the book.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
Newton’s First Law
• Experimentation led Galileo to the idea that objects
maintain their state of motion or rest.
• Newton developed the idea further, in what is now
known as Newton’s first law of motion:
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
Newton’s First Law
• Called the law of inertia
• Inertia
– Tendency of an object not to accelerate
– Mass is a measure of inertia
• More mass produces more resistance to a change in velocity
• Which object in each pair has more inertia?
– A baseball at rest or a tennis ball at rest
• Answer: the baseball
– A tennis ball moving at 125 mi/h or a baseball at rest
• Answer: the baseball
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
Net Force - the Sum of the Forces
• This car is moving with a
constant velocity.
– Fforward = road pushing the tires
– Fresistance = force caused by friction
and air
– Forces are balanced
• Velocity is constant because the
net force (Fnet) is zero.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Equilibrium
• The state in which the net
force is zero.
– All forces are balanced.
– Object is at rest or travels with
constant velocity.
• In the diagram, the bob on
the fishing line is in
equilibrium.
– The forces cancel each other.
– If either force changes,
acceleration will occur.
Section 2
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
Classroom Practice Problem
• An agricultural student is designing a support
system to keep a tree upright. Two wires have
been attached to the tree and placed at right
angles to each other (parallel to the ground).
One wire exerts a force of 30.0 N and the other
exerts a force of 40.0 N. Determine where to
place a third wire and how much force it should
exert so that the net force on the tree is zero.
• Answer: 50.0 N at 143° from the 40.0 N force
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 2
Now what do you think?
• Imagine the following two situations:
– Pushing a puck across an air hockey table
– Pushing a book across a lab table
• What should your finger do in each case to maintain a
constant speed for the object as it moves across the
table or desk? (Choose from below.)
– A quick push or force, then release the object
– Maintain a constant force as you push the object
– Increase or decrease the force as you push the object
• Explain your choice for the puck and the book.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
What do you think?
• If a net force acts on an object, what type of motion will
be observed?
– Why?
• How would this motion be affected by the amount of
force?
• Are there any other factors that might affect this motion?
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Newton’s Second Law
• Increasing the force will increase the acceleration.
– Which produces a greater acceleration on a 3-kg model airplane, a force
of 5 N or a force of 7 N?
• Answer: the 7 N force
• Increasing the mass will decrease the acceleration.
– A force of 5 N is exerted on two model airplanes, one with a mass of 3 kg
and one with a mass of 4 kg. Which has a greater acceleration?
• Answer: the 3 kg airplane
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Newton’s Second Law (Equation Form)
• F represents the vector sum of all forces acting on an
object.
– F = Fnet
– Units for force: mass units (kg)  acceleration units (m/s2)
– The units kg•m/s2 are also called newtons (N).
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Classroom Practice Problem
• Space-shuttle astronauts experience
accelerations of about 35 m/s2 during takeoff.
What force does a 75 kg astronaut experience
during an acceleration of this magnitude?
• Answer: 2600 kg•m/s2 or 2600 N
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
What do you think?
• Two football players, Alex and Jason, collide
head-on. They have the same mass and the
same speed before the collision. How does the
force on Alex compare to the force on Jason?
Why do you think so?
– Sketch each player as a stick figure.
– Place a velocity vector above each player.
– Draw the force vector on each and label it (i.e. FJA is
the force of Jason on Alex).
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
What do you think?
• Suppose Alex has twice the mass of Jason. How
would the forces compare?
– Why do you think so?
– Sketch as before.
• Suppose Alex has twice the mass and Jason is
at rest. How would the forces compare?
– Why do you think so?
– Sketch as before.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Newton’s Third Law
• Forces always exist in pairs.
– You push down on the chair, the chair pushes
up on you
– Called the action force and reaction force
– Occur simultaneously so either force is the
action force
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Newton’s Third Law
• For every action force there is an equal and opposite
reaction force.
• The forces act on different objects.
– Therefore, they do not balance or cancel each other.
– The motion of each object depends on the net force on that object.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Hammer Striking a Nail
• What are the action/reaction pairs for a
hammer striking a nail into wood?
– Force of hammer on nail = force of nail on
hammer
– Force of wood on nail = force of nail on
wood
• Which of the action/reaction forces above
act on the nail?
– Force of hammer on nail (downward)
– Force of wood on nail (upward)
• Does the nail move? If so, how?
– Fhammer-on-nail > Fwood-on-nail so the nail
accelerates downward
Section 3
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Hammer Striking a Nail
• What forces act on the hammer?
– Force of nail on hammer (upward)
– Force of hand on hammer (downward)
• Does the hammer move? If so, how?
– Fnail-on-hammer > Fhand-on-hammer so the hammer
accelerates upward or slows down
• The hammer and nail accelerate in opposite
directions.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Action-Reaction: A Book on a Desk
Action Force
Reaction Force
• The desk pushes up on
the book.
• The book pushes down
on the desk.
• Earth pulls down on the
book (force of gravity).
• The book pulls up on
Earth.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Action-Reaction: A Falling Book
Action
• Earth pulls down on the
book (force of gravity).
Reaction
• The book pulls up on
Earth.
• What is the result of the
action force (if this is the
only force on the book)?
• What is the result of the
reaction force?
– Unbalanced force
produces an acceleration
of -9.81 m/s2.
• Unbalanced force produces
a very small upward
acceleration (because the
mass of Earth is so large).
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Now what do you think?
• If a net force acts on an object, what type of motion will
be observed?
– Why?
• How would this motion be affected by the amount of
force?
• Are there any other factors that might affect this motion?
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 3
Now what do you think?
Two football players, Alex and Jason, collide head-on. For
each scenario below, do the following:
–
–
–
–
Sketch each player as a stick figure.
Place a velocity vector above each player.
Draw the force vector on each and label it.
Draw the acceleration vector above each player.
• Scenario 1: Alex and Jason have the same mass and the
same speed before the collision.
• Scenario 2: Alex has twice the mass of Jason, and they
both have the same speed before the collision.
• Scenario 3: Alex has twice the mass and Jason is at rest.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
What do you think?
• How do the quantities weight and mass differ
from each other?
• Which of the following terms is most closely
related to the term friction?
– Heat, energy, force, velocity
• Explain the relationship.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Weight and Mass
• Mass is the amount of matter in an object.
– Kilograms, slugs
• Weight is a measure of the gravitational force on an
object.
– Newtons, pounds
– Depends on the acceleration of gravity
• Weight = mass  acceleration of gravity
– W = mag where ag = 9.81 m/s2 on Earth
– Depends on location
• ag varies slightly with location on Earth.
• ag is different on other planets.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Normal Force
• Force on an object
perpendicular to the
surface (Fn)
• It may equal the weight
(Fg), as it does here.
• It does not always equal
the weight (Fg), as in the
second example.
• Fn = mg cos 
Section 4
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Static Friction
• Force that prevents motion
• Abbreviated Fs
– How does the applied force (F)
compare to the frictional force
(Fs)?
– Would Fs change if F was
reduced? If so, how?
– If F is increased significantly,
will Fs change? If so, how?
– Are there any limits on the
value for Fs?
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Kinetic Friction
• Force between surfaces that opposes movement
• Abbreviated Fk
• Does not depend on the speed
• Using the picture, describe
the motion you would
observe.
– The jug will accelerate.
• How could the person push
the jug at a constant speed?
– Reduce F so it equals Fk.
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Friction
Click below to watch the Visual Concept.
Visual Concept
Section 4
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Calculating the Force of Friction (Ff)
• Ff is directly proportional to Fn (normal force).
Ff   Fn

Ff
Fn
• Coefficient of friction ():
–
–
–
–
Determined by the nature of the two surfaces
s is for static friction.
k is for kinetic friction.
s > k
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Typical Coefficients of Friction
• Values for  have no units and are approximate.
Section 4
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Everyday Forces
Click below to watch the Visual Concept.
Visual Concept
Section 4
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Classroom Practice Problem
• A 24 kg crate initially at rest on a horizontal
floor requires a 75 N horizontal force to set it
in motion. Find the coefficient of static
friction between the crate and the floor.
– Draw a free-body diagram and use it to find:
• the weight
• the normal force (Fn)
• the force of friction (Ff)
– Find the coefficient of friction.
• Answer: s = 0.32
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Classroom Practice Problem
• A student attaches a rope to a 20.0 kg box of
books. He pulls with a force of 90.0 N at an
angle of 30.0˚ with the horizontal. The
coefficient of kinetic friction between the box
and the sidewalk is 0.500. Find the magnitude
of the acceleration of the box.
– Start with a free-body diagram.
– Determine the net force.
– Find the acceleration.
• Answer: a = 0.12 m/s2
Forces and the Laws of Motion
The Four Fundamental Forces
• Electromagnetic
– Caused by interactions between protons and electrons
– Produces friction
• Gravitational
– The weakest force
• Strong nuclear force
– The strongest force
– Short range
• Weak nuclear force
– Short range
Section 4
Forces and the Laws of Motion
Section 4
Now what do you think?
• How do the quantities weight and mass differ
from each other?
• Which of the following terms is most closely
related to the term friction?
– Heat, energy, force, velocity
• Explain the relationship.